Facts

Saturday

Presented by Nike Team Florida, the event will be highlighted by local rivals Vanguard and Trinity Catholic facing off at 7:30 p.m.

This will be the first meeting for the two schools in basketball since the Celtics knocked off the Knights in the opening round of the Kingdom of the Sun at VHS in 2011.

Vanguard won the only other meeting against TCHS the previous season.

Also on tap for the event will be Largo vs Oldsmar Christian (4:30 p.m.) and North Broward Prep vs. The Rock (6 p.m.).

The event is in honor of Murray, a longtime sports editor of the Star-Banner and basketball recruiting analyst, who put together the all-tournament team for the Kingdom of the Sun.

Murray also was responsible for starting the now-defunct Diamondback Challenge at Belleview High School, which one of the premier one-day basketball showcases in the state.

Companion events also were held at Forest and Trinity Catholic under Murray's watch.

Even while bound to a wheelchair after an auto accident, Murray attended well over 200 basketball games per year and put out Florida Focus, one of the state's premier recruiting newsletters on prep and JUCO basketball.

Following Murray's death in 2008, now-retired Vanguard boys basketball coach Jim Haley named the Kingdom's most valuable player honor the Vince Murray MVP Award.

PIMENTEL SIGNS WITH CF: Former Trinity Catholic and West Port High standout Jason Pimentel recently signed with the College of Central Florida men's basketball team.

Pimentel, who earned the Star-Banner Player of the Year as a junior with the Celtics, transferred to Montverde Academy for his senior year and signed with Old Dominion after his prep career.

“He's a great get for us,” Patriots coach Tim Ryan said. “He's a local kid with great skills who will bring a lot of excitement to our program.”

Pimentel (6-8, 220) is excited about returning home.

“I want to win a state championship, a national championship, and be the best player that I can possibly be,” said Pimentel, who was part of the rotation as a freshman at Old Dominion University.

Both of Pimentel's parents played basketball at the College of Central Florida.

His father, also named Jason Pimentel, played professionally in Puerto Rico after starting his career at CF and his mother, Daphne Colston, also began her collegiate career with the Patriots.

“It's great to have a chance to follow in their footsteps,” he said.

Pimentel had a visit with CF when it faced Central Georgia Tech back in mid-December.

From there, he wound up picking the Patriots over rival Northwest Florida State, the team that CF faced in last year's state championship game in Marianna.

LOCAL PLAYERS COMPETE: The inaugural Mali All-Star Football Game this past Saturday took place at Citizens Field and featured a large Marion County flavor.

<p>The fourth annual Vince Murray Memorial Challenge will take place Saturday at Trinity Catholic High School.</p><p>Presented by Nike Team Florida, the event will be highlighted by local rivals Vanguard and Trinity Catholic facing off at 7:30 p.m.</p><p>This will be the first meeting for the two schools in basketball since the Celtics knocked off the Knights in the opening round of the Kingdom of the Sun at VHS in 2011.</p><p>Vanguard won the only other meeting against TCHS the previous season.</p><p>Also on tap for the event will be Largo vs Oldsmar Christian (4:30 p.m.) and North Broward Prep vs. The Rock (6 p.m.).</p><p>The event is in honor of Murray, a longtime sports editor of the Star-Banner and basketball recruiting analyst, who put together the all-tournament team for the Kingdom of the Sun.</p><p>Murray also was responsible for starting the now-defunct Diamondback Challenge at Belleview High School, which one of the premier one-day basketball showcases in the state.</p><p>Companion events also were held at Forest and Trinity Catholic under Murray's watch.</p><p>Even while bound to a wheelchair after an auto accident, Murray attended well over 200 basketball games per year and put out Florida Focus, one of the state's premier recruiting newsletters on prep and JUCO basketball.</p><p>Following Murray's death in 2008, now-retired Vanguard boys basketball coach Jim Haley named the Kingdom's most valuable player honor the Vince Murray MVP Award.</p><p><B>PIMENTEL SIGNS WITH CF:</B> Former Trinity Catholic and West Port High standout Jason Pimentel recently signed with the College of Central Florida men's basketball team.</p><p>Pimentel, who earned the Star-Banner Player of the Year as a junior with the Celtics, transferred to Montverde Academy for his senior year and signed with Old Dominion after his prep career.</p><p>“He's a great get for us,” Patriots coach Tim Ryan said. “He's a local kid with great skills who will bring a lot of excitement to our program.”</p><p>Pimentel (6-8, 220) is excited about returning home.</p><p>“I want to win a state championship, a national championship, and be the best player that I can possibly be,” said Pimentel, who was part of the rotation as a freshman at Old Dominion University.</p><p>Both of Pimentel's parents played basketball at the College of Central Florida.</p><p>His father, also named Jason Pimentel, played professionally in Puerto Rico after starting his career at CF and his mother, Daphne Colston, also began her collegiate career with the Patriots.</p><p>“It's great to have a chance to follow in their footsteps,” he said.</p><p>Pimentel had a visit with CF when it faced Central Georgia Tech back in mid-December.</p><p>From there, he wound up picking the Patriots over rival Northwest Florida State, the team that CF faced in last year's state championship game in Marianna.</p><p><B>LOCAL PLAYERS COMPETE:</B> The inaugural Mali All-Star Football Game this past Saturday took place at Citizens Field and featured a large Marion County flavor.</p><p>Players who competed included: Grey Team: Trinity Catholic's Damonte Jones, Jamonte Jones, Tim McCullough, Gage Smith; Vanguard's Zay Thornton, Kyle Sandner, Wade Ford, Master Bracey, Aaron Decker; and North Marion's Michael Thomas.</p><p>Members of the Black Team included: Vanguard's Cameron Livingston, Laquandre Kinsler, Sanchez Lofton, Jahquez Williams, Marcus Davis; Forest's Danny Krysalka; and North Marion's Myles Stewart and Zachary Panitzke.</p><p><B>STILL ON TOP:</B> North Marion senior heavyweight wrestler Aaron Pringle maintained his hold on top of the Class 1A state wrestling rankings recently released by Scout.com</p><p>Pringle heads the list of five local wrestlers ranked from the county among the state's three wrestling classifications.</p>